A third of North America’s birds have vanished

Post by giantg2 » Sun, Jul 16, 2023, 11:40 AM UTC

bmitc wrote: post #307

debaserab2 wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's common in a 50+ year old neighborhood for trees to be diseased or dead or have a root system that is growing into the foundation of buildings or other infrastructure. It's not that people don't want trees, it's that people don't want trees that are a liability during the next storm (which I'm guessing is especially true in a place like florida).

But just think about that. Imagine someone just up and moving into your yard, without your permission, and then they decide to bulldoze your house because it's getting in the way of . I do understand the practicalities and constraints of homeownership, but I do wish we, as a species, did a bit more thinking ahead and had more empathy for literally anything else besides us.

Post by giantg2 » Sun, Jul 16, 2023, 11:48 AM UTC

bmitc wrote: post #309

thebigjewbowski wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But in reality there's a lot of people who see any snake, insect, or arachnid, and respond with "kill it with fire." Did you have a natural (or learned) revulsion for bugs? If so, how did you get over it? I’ve gotten over mice completely, never felt right killing one in the first place. I’ve been trying to make peace with bugs; I unplugged my mosquito zappers last summer shortly after getting them when I realized t…

Hang a bat house. :) I have seriously considered it, but I do wonder about the neighborhood response. Although I don't think there's any danger and that there's actually more danger from the mosquitoes carrying every disease under the sun, I'm not sure if it's a battle I want to take on if someone has an issue with it. Once the bats are in place, I believe it requires engaging with state wildlife authorities to reloc…

Post by RunSet » Sun, Jul 16, 2023, 11:52 AM UTC

23B1 wrote: post #152

d0mine wrote: post #80

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If individuals are responsible for just 1% of the issues then even if we eliminate them "bottom-up" completely, we are still left with 99% of issues that should be fixed at another level. For example, consider what would save more water: 10 million people stopping showering completely or one corporation stopping production of water-intensive crops in a desert.

Actually, I think that localized thinking has benefits that are so much better than the status quo of globalization that that 99% the issues you describe would be vacated. Like let's talk about food, how we get bananas from across the globe. Who the hell needs bananas when you can buy fresh, seasonal fruit from the farmer an hour away? Yeah you might not get to have banana cream pie for Christmas, but you made a new…

Post by giantg2 » Sun, Jul 16, 2023, 11:55 AM UTC

jdmichal wrote: post #323

smaudet wrote: post #183

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Part of it is evangelizing, but its bigger than that - the yards of tomorrow need to look at lot more like grasslands and a lot less like farmland or golf courses, though. Grassland is long grass, and it shelters a lot more than just insects and birds. It can be cover for small dogs, cats, beavers, possums, moles, mice, snakes, etc... Understandably most "neighborhoods" don't want snakes, raccoons, or possums in thei…

Why would one not want possums? They are great. Eats bad bugs, highly resistant to rabies, and generally non-aggressive towards humans.

Post by zerodensity » Sun, Jul 16, 2023, 12:00 PM UTC

badpun wrote: post #356

zerodensity wrote: post #344

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I mean they will still have the sun.

Producing solar panels requires an advanced technical civilization being in place. You cannot jump from middle ages tech to producing solar panels with skipping dependence on fossil fuels in the intermediate steps.